suspense
/səˈspɛns/
suspense noun: the condition of being suspended; cessation for a time.
Noun
suspense (usually uncountable, plural suspenses)
- The condition of being suspended; cessation for a time.
- For thee the Fates, severely kind, ordain / A cool suspense from pleasure and from pain; / Thy life a long dead calm of fix'd repose; / No pulse that riots, and no blood that glows.1717, Alexander Pope, Eloisa to Abelard, lines 249–252; republished in The Complete Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, Boston, New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1902, page 113
- The pleasurable emotion of anticipation and excitement regarding the outcome or climax of a book, film etc.
- The unpleasant emotion of anxiety or apprehension in an uncertain situation.
- Ten days the prophet in suspense remain'd.1636 (date written), John Denham, “The Destruction of Troy, an Essay upon the Second Book of Virgils Æneis”, in Poems and Translations, with The Sophy, London: […] [John Macock] for H[enry]...
- I believe that, to the young, suspense is the most intolerable suffering. Active misery always brings with it its own power of endurance.1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 265–266
- A temporary cessation of one's right; suspension, as when the rent or other profits of land cease by unity of possession of land and rent.
- A deadline.
- She sent us that assignment with a suspense of noon tomorrow.
Adjective
suspense (not comparable)
- Held or lifted up; held or prevented from proceeding.
- [The great light of day] suspens in heav'n.1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
- Expressing, or proceeding from, suspense or doubt.
- Expectation held his look suspense.1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
suspense meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
suspense in Hindi
- सस्पेंस, सस्पेन्स
suspense in Tamil
- ஆவலால் தவிப்பூட்டு, இடைத் தயக்க நிலை, உறுதியற்ற நிலை, எதுர்பார்ப்பு நிலை, தொங்கலில் உள்ள, முடிவுறாத
suspense in Marathi
- सस्पेन्स, सस्पेंस, सस्पन्स
suspense in Urdu
- انتظار
More languagesFewer languages
- suspense in Bengali
- সাসপেন্স, সস্পেন্স
- suspense in Telugu
- సస్పెన్స్
- suspense in Malayalam
- സസ്പെൻസ് saspeṉsŭ
- suspense in Kannada
- ಕಂಡಿತವಲ್ಲದಿಕೆ, ಅರಿವಿಲ್ಲದಿಕೆ, ಕೊನೆಯ ಪಸಿಯಿಸುಗೆ, ಆತಂಕ
- suspense in Punjabi
- ਸਸਪੈਂਸ
- suspense in Gujarati
- સસ્પેન્સ, સસ્પન્સ
- suspense in Odia
- ସସ୍ପେନ୍ସ, ସସ୍ପେନ୍ସ୍
- suspense in Nepali
- सस्पेन्स
- suspense in Tagalog
- pagkaalip-ip
- suspense in Arabic
- إِيقَاف ʔīqāf, تَوْقِيف tawqīf, تَشْوِيق tašwīq
- suspense in Malay
- saspens
Examples of suspense in a sentence
- Detective novel writers try to keep up the suspense until the last chapter.
- Even the lightest-hearted of the nominees bears the shadow of suspense.
- The experience of “eventness” has to do with the element of suspense.
Forms of suspense
| plural | suspenses |
|---|---|
| alternative form (obsolete) | suspence |
Origin of suspense
From Middle English suspense, suspence, from Anglo-Norman suspens (as in en suspens) and Old French suspens, from Latin suspēnsus.
Words formed from suspense
Phrases with suspense
Words that rhyme with suspense
Questions about suspense
- What does suspense mean?
- Suspense means the condition of being suspended; cessation for a time.
- What is suspense in Hindi?
- Suspense in Hindi is सस्पेंस, सस्पेन्स. See Suspense meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is suspense?
- Suspense can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce suspense?
- Suspense is pronounced /səˈspɛns/.
- What is the plural of suspense?
- The plural of suspense is suspenses.
Words near suspense in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: suspense (page history and authors); suspense (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); suspense (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); suspense (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); suspense (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); suspense (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); suspense (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); സസ്പെൻസ് (Malayalam) (page history and authors); suspense (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); suspense (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); suspense (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); suspense (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); suspense (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-suspense.ogg.
Cite this entry: “suspense.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/suspense. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.